Audio and video conferencing provides a significant resource to those who reside in distant locations. Critical information may be exchanged in an effective manner without the inconvenience of traveling to meet with other parties. Although it has become a significant tool, audio and video conferencing has a number of limitations related to its use.
One disadvantage related to audio/video conferencing relates to effectively utilizing a vast number of different features available to configure a conference call. Typical features provided by conferencing systems include the ability to create side conferences, conduct roll calls, mute one or more participating members, and provide pre-recorded broadcast messages to one or more participants. Often, remembering the vast number of different features poses a problem for many users. Because of the number of features, a reference card is provided to a user for use during a conference call. These cards, however, are often printed in small type and are very difficult to interpret and use.
Another issue in configuring one or more features of conference calls relates to implementation. Often, implementing a particular feature requires keying in a string or a sequence of DTMF (dual tone multi-frequency) tones. The sequences may be long and remembering a sequence may be a very difficult process. Further, remembering more than a few of these sequences may be a very arduous task.
A significant disadvantage to current conferencing systems involves the difficulty and complexity of invoking various feature sets while participating in a conference call. A participant may have to enter one or more states or modes in his conferencing device prior to entering the appropriate DTMF sequence that allows him to configure his conferencing device with the desired feature. The process is not intuitive and a participant may run into significant problems during a conference call. Often times, a call may be dropped or a conference call may be terminated if the wrong DTMF sequence is input. This often causes unwanted frustration to users who become more hesitant to use such features in the future.
Finally, DTMF tones often result in irritating audible distractions during a conference call. This often occurs when a participant enters or exits a conference call while a conversation is occurring during the conference call or when a user wishes to invoke a particular feature. In addition to annoying a participant, the wrong sequence of DTMF tones may terminate a conference call.
Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems with some aspects of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.